Weltec Biopower (UK), based in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, has been granted the contract to extend the award-winning food waste AD plant in Piddlehinton, Dorset. Plant owner Eco Sustainable Solutions is expanding with a further 1.1MW of food waste processing capacity.

This follows on from the Weltec successes of commissioning two other plants in early 2014. With other construction projects underway, new staff recruited and a healthy order book, 2014 looks set to be an excellent year for Weltec Biopower (UK).

The original Eco-Dorset AD plant was also built by Weltec and was commissioned in 2012. After two years of successful operation, the operator assigned Weltec with the extension. The extension will be completed in Autumn 2014. The plant is fed by local authority food waste as well as out of date food products which prior to digestion are unpackaged, sorted and pasteurised at the site. After the extension, approximately 37,000 tpa of food waste will generate an electrical output of 1.6 MW.

The Eco-Dorset approach is an excellent example of the benefits of intelligent design, co-location and mutually beneficial plant integration. Electricity generated at the plant as well as excess gas is fed to an adjacent feed mill. When the mill is not operational, the power is fed to the National Grid. The digestate produced by the plant, which is in the process of gaining PAS 110 accreditation, is collected and used by local farmers.

Despite the latent renewable energy in commercial and municipal food wastes, much of this valuable resource still ends in landfill. Much of it also ends in composting plants, which use expensive imported energy to bio-stabilise (or destroy) what, when processed in an AD plant, is a valuable renewable energy resource. After all, one tonne of organic waste processed through AD, could be converted into 600 to 800 Kilowatt hours of energy - enough to power five refrigerators for one year. The equivalent tonne of waste through a composting plant costs energy and money to process.

As energy demand and prices continue to rise and security of supply concerns worsen, more and more local authorities and private waste companies look set to follow the excellent example set by Eco Sustainable Solutions and capitalise on the excellent income generation opportunity that organic waste presents.

Weltec understands the needs of every client and tailors the most cost-effective solution on a case by case basis. The partnership between the plant manufacturer and its clients also continues after the design and build phase.

"Weltec recognises that an AD plant is a 20 year partnership and that maintaining solid trust-based working relationships with our clients is crucial to our ongoing success," says sales manager Kevin Monson. "Therefore, we now have a dedicated UK-based service & maintenance capability with locally available spare parts."

Another advantage core to Weltec's continued success in industrial and agricultural applications is the fact that the digesters and digestate storage tanks are constructed from stainless steel. Aside from being a higher-quality product, stainless steel and is corrosion resistant to aggressive materials and offers a faster construction time, which is increasingly important to all developers with the FIT framework deadlines providing tight construction windows.

Weltec Biopower experts can discuss your AD project at RWM (Recycling & Waste Management) at the NEC Birmingham from September 16th to 18th.